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We have exciting news at Dear Martini HQ: We are expanding our team! Our newest member is Mariel Cruz and she joins us as our Social Media Assistant. Welcome Mariel! Look forward to meeting our other new team members in the coming months.

Introducing Mariel!

Hey everybody! I’m super excited to be working with Dear Martini! Working with Chef Terri and Chef Mia has been such a blast. I’ve already learned so much about cooking from Dear Martini. Strawberries are my favorite fruit, and Dear Martini has some great tips on picking out the best strawberries for desserts, or even just as a healthy snack. Did you know that the best tasting strawberries are dark red, plump and small (the smallest ones are the juiciest!) with dark green stems? Check out Dear Martini’s blog for more tips on strawberries. https://dearmartini.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/strawberries-rule-tips-for-choosing-and-preparing-the-better-berry/

My first strawberry fan!

I learned how to make this quick and easy dessert from watching Dear Martini’s videos on strawberries.

Before I watched Dear Martini’s strawberry videos, I had to the hardest time slicing strawberries, but now it’s super easy. Now, I can’t wait to try making strawberry shortcake!

For more tips and videos on how to make the best strawberry shortcake, be sure to check out Dear Martini’s YouTube page.

I’m super excited to be part of the Dear Martini team, and I can’t wait to learn more awesome cooking tips!

From choosing the perfect strawberry, to slicing, quartering, fanning and macerating. All the techniques you need to make the best of fresh strawberries.

“Strawberries Rule!” say 94% of all American households… but some strawberries are better than other berries.

How to Choose the Perfect Strawberry:

Ripe delicious strawberries should be sweet and enticingly perfumed. Unlike many fruits, strawberries do not continue to ripen after harvesting. From the moment strawberries are picked you are running the race to eat them before their demise!

Choose bright-red strawberries with dark green caps

Plump but small. Large strawberries tend to taste watery. Giant strawberries are usually a disappointment.

Strawberries with no smell are a bust. Don’t buy them!

Buy organic — Most of us know by now that strawberries are on the “dirty dozen” list which is a list of fruits and veggies that have high residual pesticide rates. We would love to say that we only purchase organic fruits and veggies, but that isn’t realistic for many (including us) on a tight budget. With strawberries it really makes a difference so we spend our dollars wisely and buy organic. For the freshest berries we head to the Farmer’s market.

Once you get the berries home they are best eaten at room temperature…the same day. If you can’t eat them the same day, then pop them unwashed, into a container in a single layer with a dry paper towel placed on the bottom and one on top. Allow strawberries to come to room temperature before serving for best flavor.

Strawberries ARE Wash & Dry!

Strawberries should always be rinsed and dried just before cutting. Ignore recipes that tell you that you should never wash strawberries… you can’t wash away their flavor! Place berries in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Spread them out to dry on paper towels with plenty of space between them to dry. This can be done up to 3 hours before you plan to use them.

Quarter ‘Em:

Slice ‘Em:

Fan ‘Em:

Macerate ‘Em:

One of the simplest quick desserts is to macerate fresh strawberries — sprinkle the berries with a little sugar or honey to bring out their natural sweetness and set them aside for a couple of minutes to allow them to release their natural juices. (Watch the video to see the magic!) Here are a couple additions to try if you want to get a little more creative:

A squeeze of lemon or orange juice

Teaspoon or two of balsamic vinegar

A drizzle of rose water or a couple of drops of violet essence

Splash of red wine or your favorite liqueur

A couple lemon verbena leaves, basil, or mint chiffonade

Just remember to add a tiny bit at a time and taste — you’re looking to enhance and add complexity NOT loose the natural flavor.

Strawberries Aren’t Just For Shortcakes Anymore…

While we never get tired of eating fresh berries picked warm from the garden we sometimes want a little something different. One of our new favorite techniques to prepare strawberries is to roast them! Roasting is easy and turns the strawberries into a wonderful jammy consistency. It’s a great way to use strawberries when you have too many (they hold up in the fridge much better than fresh berries.) Roasting also improves their flavor if the strawberries are less than perfect. For one of our favorite go to recipes, check out Zoë François’ lovely blog: http://www.zoebakes.com The Best Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream – roasting is the secret.

Shortcakes, berries and cream are all you need for a fabulous dessert!

Nothing indicates that Spring is finally here like the arrival of strawberries! If you haven’t already made this classic all-American dessert yet, now’s your chance!

Let’s say you’re invited to a friend’s house for a weekend backyard party… and you want to contribute a dessert to the party but don’t know what to make? Herein lies your salvation. Bring strawberry shortcake! It’s everyone’s favorite! Bring the components with you in separate containers, and assemble just before serving.

There are only three components to this dessert: strawberries, whipped cream, and lightly sweetened biscuits. Follow our how-to videos to help you along with preparing each component. As always, we’ve created a portfolio of all relevant how-to videos on our Vimeo Channel: http://vimeopro.com/dearmartini/strawberry-shortcake. We hope this will earn its place in your arsenal of go-to dessert recipes!

Shortcakes

Makes 12 biscuits

* in this recipe, the base recipe for the biscuits is derived from our scone recipe. We like to make our own acidulated milk instead of using buttermilk from the store; so if you wish to use buttermilk, substitute ½ cup for the lemon juice and whole milk.

Mix the lemon juice and milk togetherand let it stand in the fridge for as long as it takes to prepare the rest of the recipe. If you are using ½ cup buttermilk for this recipe, eliminate this step. Cube the butterand keep in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt with a wooden spoon. Add the butter. Cut the butter into the flourusing a pastry blender or break up the butter into the flour by rubbing the butter and flour together between your fingers. Do this very quickly and randomly. You should still have lumps of butter varying from small (pea-sized) to large (blueberry sized). Do not let the butter get soft. If it does, return the bowl to the fridge for a few minutes.

Combine the eggs and milk mixture together and add to the flour mixture. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a shaggy, lumpy mass. It’s ok that it’s not smooth or uniformly mixed in. It’s ok to see random lumps of butter still not mixed in.

Transfer the dough onto a well-floured surface and gently, with floured hands, pat it down into a rough rectangle shape about 1-inch thick. Use a spatula and pick up one end of the dough and fold it over in half. Pick up the entire dough piece and turn it 45-degrees. Flour your hands and pat it down into another rectangle. Repeat this patting, folding, turning method 4-5 more times. Keep flour dusted underneath the dough as you turn it. For the last pat-down, make sure the rectangle is about 10-12 inches long and 6 inches wide. Transfer the dough to a sheet pan and cover. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to firm up the butter.

Use a 3 ½ -inch diameter biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter to cut the biscuits. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press the scraps together and pat and fold to recombine the dough. DO NOT KNEAD THE DOUGH TOGETHER. Continue cutting out biscuits and reforming the dough until they are all cut. Refrigerate the biscuits for about 30 minutes to firm up the butter.

Just before baking, lightly brush the egg wash over the tops of the biscuits and sprinkle the tops with the turbinado sugar.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The biscuits will be firm to the touch. Transfer the pans to a wire rack to cool.

Macerated Strawberries:

Macerate the sliced strawberriesin a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let them sit for 15 minutes or keep covered in the fridge until ready to use. In our experience, strawberries taste best when they are cool, or at room temperature. We find that the chill from the refrigerator inhibits their flavor.

Crème Chantilly:

Makes 2 cups

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Whip the creamwith vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to use. Set all components aside until you are ready to serve.

We’re in the last stretch of summer and if you haven’t already made this classic all-American dessert yet, now’s your chance!

Let’s say you’re invited to a friend’s house for a weekend backyard barbecue… and you want to contribute a dessert to the party but don’t know what to make? Herein lies your salvation. Bring strawberry shortcake! It’s everyone’s favorite! Bring the components with you in separate containers, and assemble just before serving.

There are only three components to this dessert: strawberries, whipped cream, and lightly sweetened biscuits. Follow our how-to videos to help you along with preparing each component. As always, we’ve created a portfolio of all relevant how-to videos on our Vimeo Channel: http://vimeopro.com/dearmartini/strawberry-shortcake. We hope this will earn its place in your arsenal of go-to dessert recipes!

Recipes:

Shortcakes

Makes 12 biscuits

* in this recipe, the base recipe for the biscuits is derived from our scone recipe. We like to make our own acidulated milk instead of using buttermilk from the store; so if you wish to use buttermilk, substitute ½ cup for the lemon juice and whole milk.

Mix the lemon juice and milk together and let it stand in the fridge for as long as it takes to prepare the rest of the recipe. If you are using ½ cup buttermilk for this recipe, eliminate this step. Cube the butter and keep in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt with a wooden spoon. Add the butter. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or break up the butter into the flour by rubbing the butter and flour together between your fingers. Do this very quickly and randomly. You should still have lumps of butter varying from small (pea-sized) to large (blueberry sized). Do not let the butter get soft. If it does, return the bowl to the fridge for a few minutes.

Combine the eggs and milk mixture together and add to the flour mixture. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a shaggy, lumpy mass. It’s ok that it’s not smooth or uniformly mixed in. It’s ok to see random lumps of butter still not mixed in.

Transfer the dough onto a well-floured surface and gently, with floured hands, pat it down into a rough rectangle shape about 1-inch thick. Use a spatula and pick up one end of the dough and fold it over in half. Pick up the entire dough piece and turn it 45-degrees. Flour your hands and pat it down into another rectangle. Repeat this patting, folding, turning method 4-5 more times. Keep flour dusted underneath the dough as you turn it. For the last pat-down, make sure the rectangle is about 10-12 inches long and 6 inches wide. Transfer the dough to a sheet pan and cover. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to firm up the butter.

Use a 3 ½ -inch diameter biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter to cut the biscuits. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press the scraps together and pat and fold to recombine the dough. DO NOT KNEAD THE DOUGH TOGETHER. Continue cutting out biscuits and reforming the dough until they are all cut. Refrigerate the biscuits for about 30 minutes to firm up the butter.

Just before baking, lightly brush the egg wash over the tops of the biscuits and sprinkle the tops with the turbinado sugar.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The biscuits will be firm to the touch. Transfer the pans to a wire rack to cool.

Macerated Strawberries:

Macerate the sliced strawberries in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let them sit for 15 minutes or keep covered in the fridge until ready to use. In our experience, strawberries taste best when they are cool, or at room temperature. We find that the chill from the refrigerator inhibits their flavor.

Crème Chantilly:

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Whip the cream with vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to use. Set all components aside until you are ready to serve.